Headache Archive

Sufferers now have more options than ever to ease the pain or even ward off attacks.

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If you've ever experienced a migraine, you know it's no ordinary headache. Not only does it cause throbbing pain, typically on one side of your head, but it may also cause vision changes, sensitivity to light, and nausea. It's the type of headache that makes you want to retreat to a dark, quiet room and stay there until it goes away. Recovering from a migraine can take time; the headache can last for hours or days. Migraines affect an estimated 28 million women in the United States, according to the American Migraine Foundation (AMF).

The World Health Organization says that migraine headaches rank in the top 10 of disabling conditions. These headaches result in lost work days, lost productivity, and high health care costs. And of course, they can cause you to miss out on pleasurable activities and time with family.

Despite the fact that headaches are extremely common, doctors don't fully understand exactly why or even how they occur. Neither the skull nor the brain is sensitive to pain, but both are surrounded by pain-sensitive membranes. Most headache pain stems from abnormalities in these membranes or nearby muscles, blood vessels, or nerves—either alone or in combination.

Women are twice as likely as men to experience moderate and severe headaches and more likely to experience certain types of headaches, such as migraine. A major reason is fluctuating hormone levels that are part of the monthly menstrual cycle.

Pain from migraines, cluster headaches, and other types of headaches require very different treatments.

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Pain around the eye and throbbing on one side of the head — they're common headache symptoms, but what do they mean? "Many times people assume a headache is due to sinusitis, and they put up with it for years," says Dr. John ­Pettinato, a neurologist with ­Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Understanding your pain can help you find the best approach to treatment.

This ancient practice can be used alone or with conventional therapy to help ease your pain.

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Men looking for an easy and effective means to manage pain should consider acupuncture.

"There are many different types of pain — neuropathic, muscular, degenerative joint — all of which can make management complex," says Hugo Lopez, a licensed acupuncturist with Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center. "Sometimes you need to treat not just the physical components, but also the psychological ones, and that is where acupuncture can help, as it addresses both problems."